Collecting log: My Lucky Day (when I happened to get a rare sample record)

In Japan, Brilliant Disguise, the first single off the album TUNNEL OF LOVE in 1987, was released twice commercially as a 7" format: one as a standard two-track disc (backed w/ Lucky Man) and another as a low-budget, one-track reissue (CBS SONY 07SP 1070 and 04SP 1075, respectively). To boost the sale of these singles, CBS/SONY distributed three promo/sample 7" counterparts (the same catalog numbers as aforementioned and XDSP 93096). Two of them have become highly sought-after collectibles, one solely for its rarity (center; this post) and another not only for its scarcity but also for the unique promotion-only sleeve design (left; see also 11/20/2016).

No, no, this rather short post is not about a track commercially released online as the second single from WORKING ON A DREAM, an album released in 2009 with mixed reviews (BTW, I own only a few collectibles from this album). Since the demise of the Coronavirus pandemic, I have been able to visit a few second-hand record stores in my local area regularly (about once every month). Obviously, net auctions and online shopping were not enough to enjoy hunting vinyl records and satisfy my interest and inquiring mind as a collector. What was lacking was an exciting and exceptional moment to visit a store onsite, pick up a vinyl record, and, luckily, find an unexpected bargain at a low price.

"2024-04-04 (April 4, 2024; see the receipt)" was my lucky day.
The only distinguishing marker between promo and stock copies
of this rarity is a "Sample disc" indication in Kanji above the right-
side company logo on the SIDE A label. No Japanese words that
refer to "Promotion only" or "Not for sale" are printed on the label
and grocery bag-style sleeve.

This happened last month when I went to one of the regular stops (the same used record store mentioned previously; see 02/23/2020). Just then, the store was selling a bunch of 7" singles and EPs at a discount. Among hundreds of domestic and imported discs, I dug out two "regular release-looking" copies of Brilliant Disguise one-sided single (CBS/SONY 04SP 1075), known as a Japan-only low-budget 7" release with no B-side track. Both were sold for one coin [i.e., 500 Japanese Yen (JPY)], which equaled three bucks and a little more and cost 100 JPY higher than the retail price (400 JPY) when originally released in 1987 (cf., the standard two-sided single with Lucky Man was sold for 700 JPY). I owned only one copy of this relatively limited edition, so there was no reason to miss the opportunity to get the two in fairly nice condition at a bargain price.

Sample and regular discs share the same
matrix number machine-stamped on
SIDE A (04S0-1075A1).

Then, to my surprise, one of them was found to be a sample copy, which was only recognized by a small, boxed three-letter Kanji character printed on the A-side label (the B-side is blank). The store staff probably was unaware of this or forgot to indicate it on the price tag because tons of 7" singles were for sale back then. As I already mentioned almost nine years ago (07/12/2015), this one-sided single has significantly enhanced its value in the collector's market solely because of its extreme rarity but nothing else, like the other two sample releases [i.e., sample copies for LIVE/1975-85 5-LP box (CBS/SONY 75AP 3300-3304; see 11/23/2020) and those for the BORN IN THE U.S.A. Master Sound reissue (CBS/SONY 30AP 2878)]. Just to mention a couple of examples, eBay sold it for $360 in 2015 with seven bids and even fetched $620 in 2022 with 22 bids! Simply unbelievable.

Many Japanese sample 7" copies have leaked from radio
stations. Such copies are generally stamped on their sleeves
to indicate some date (e.g., the airplay date), the location of
a radio station, or both. The pictured example reads "October
19, 1987, Osaka," where the year is shown in the Japanese
Calendar as "(Showa) 62." The release date of this single in
Japan was October 10, 1987.

Certainly, the above three examples are seldom seen in the market even here and are considered to have been pressed in quite limited quantity compared to many other sample releases. However, they are generally not my prime collecting targets since there are no substantial differences from regular issues. In my view, these samples are like U.S. promo album copies in the 1980s (except those for THE RIVER; see 11/23/2016), which were, in fact, nothing but stock copies with a gold promo stamp on the rear sleeve. Just so you know, CBS/SONY released an advanced promo 7" for this first single cut from TUNNEL OF LOVE with a completely different cover artwork (CBS/SONY XDSP 93096; shown in the top image of this post), which truly deserves a top collectible among many Japanese promo pressings (for details, see 11/20/2016).

I have stopped adding new vinyl
releases to my collection after I
bought a copy of the double white
LP of GREATEST HITS (Sony
Records Int'l SIJP-1081/2), the
first Japanese vinyl pressing in 36
years since TUNNEL OF LOVE
in 1987.

Having said that, honestly, I can't deny that I'm feeling happy with the unexpected outcome of this purchase. The case was like winning the lottery, as I had no idea it was an extremely rare sample copy before purchasing it. While my collecting career has had several "lucky days" in the past, I'm greedy and eagerly await the next unexpected finding, which brings a unique joy and reminds me of the thrill of vinyl hunting.

P.S. By the way, I have some feelings about the recent compilation and cover albums pressed on a variety of colored vinyl, which have become a commonplace standard when it comes to releasing vinyl titles. I find them rather boring and uninspired, mainly because of the lack of new material. In addition, they are not so rare but not cheap (not even considering the recent Yen depreciation here). Surely, collecting them all in different colors is fun. Still, I can't help but think selling these kinds of duplicates is too much of a money-grabbing scheme, so I have refrained from buying any of the latest vinyl releases (and am just disappointed to know that the BORN IN THE U.S.A. 40th Anniversary Edition is slated for release as a single LP without any unreleased tracks and concert footage).

Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: ALL THOSE YEARS — unofficial but the first retrospective release of a supectacular 10-LP box collection (Part 3 of 3)

One of the ten white label test pressing discs of the
ultimate Bruceleg. Shown is Side Two of Disc One,
as indicated by the matrix number "SR 112," hand-
marked on the plain label and engraved on the vinyl
deadwax (not in my possession). Photos provided
courtesy of hrubesh.

 

"As the man behind many older bootlegs, including All Those Years, one has to be impressed with the sincerity and integrity of Mr. Dane* as a bootlegger."
(unsigned article,1989) Bootleg Compact Discs: An exclusive investigation into illegal CDs. Backstreets Magazine, Number 29, excerpted from p. 16.
*Pseudonym for an anonymous member of the Italian Great Dane Records label who was interviewed by the magazine for the article when he participated at the Austin Record Convention, Texas, in the Spring of 1989. Needless to say, the label purportedly released the first known Bruceleg CD (i.e., YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME) early that year.

"Great Dane consists of a group of collectors. We select artists using our 'heart', [and] we select our production considering three things: popularity of the artist, quality of available tapes and the sales potential. There's nothing original in this, except that we consider Europe as our market."
Clinton Heylin (1995) Chapter 17. It was less than twenty years ago ... In: Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Reccording Industry, excerpted from p. 310, St. Martin's Press (New York).

"Great Dane even managed to remaster (and upgrade) the famous ten-album Springsteen bootleg set All Those Years, jamming it all into a five-CD box. The original vinyl version, which had also originated in Italy, had excited considerable comment in the wake of Springsteen's own disappointing three-CD collection Live 1978-85 [sic]."
Clinton Heylin (1995) Same source as above, excerpted from p. 311.

As most of you know and referenced in the above quotes, this "ultimate in bootlegging" came out in Italy 40 years ago, allegedly released by the folks who played a significant role in establishing one of the pioneering bootleg CD labels in the late 1980s. Based on what I've seen in my career of collecting and the relevant information available in print and online publications and databases, three different editions were produced and circulated in the underground market by the mid-1980s, as detailed below:

• Serially numbered 10-picture disc/red box sets with a bonus red-colored, one-sided 7" single (said to be strictly limited to 50 copies released in 1984). The picture (same as the front image of the box package) is one-sided only on each disc, whereas the other side is plain red.
• Serially numbered black 10-LP/black box sets, generally referred to as originals (reportedly limited to 1000 copies released in 1984).
• Un-numbered black 10-LP/black box sets, regarded as reissues (around 500 copies released in 1985 or later).

The original 1000-limited numbered copies are distinguishable from the late un-numbered issues by three differences on the back cover of the accompanying booklets. The band members' list and Roman-numeral year notation strongly suggest that the original black box (left) was already out in the market before the release of Springsteen's 7th album in June 1984 and the subsequent promotion tours in 1984-85.

Although I don't own the red-box edition, according to collectors who own all three versions, they were pressed with the same stampers. By appearance, the black-box sets are almost indistinguishable between the original and reissue, except for three noticeable differences on the rear cover of the accompanying 20-page booklet:

• Two new members back then (Nils Lofgren and Patti [misspelt as "Patty"] Scialfa), who joined the E Street Band upon the North American and subsequent world tours promoting BORN IN THE U.S.A. released in 1984, are not mentioned in the members' list on the original booklet but appended to the reissue one.
• Printed Roman numerals differ from each other between the two booklets (MCMLXXXIV or MCMLXXXV), most probably indicating the individual release year (1984 or 1985, respectively).
• As widely known, a limited number is handwritten for the original release only using a silver ink marker, although there are exceptions (see below).

Did bootleggers prefer Roman numerals
to Arabic numerals? Shown is a limited
number handwritten on the booklet for
one of the fifty copies of the red box

release (not in my collection).

Interestingly, close examinations of limited serial numbers of several copies (including my two copies and a dozen others whose images are available online auctions and databases) made me aware of or confirm the following facts:

• For the red-box edition, Roman numerals were used to denote a limited serial number with the total copy number at the bottom (e.g., XXX/L = #30/50). On the other hand, Arabic numbers were employed for the original black-box release to indicate a serial number alone without the total copy number (which is believed to be 1000 copies).
• Although seemingly small in quantity, a certain fraction of the black-box reissues carrying the MCMVXXXV-printed booklet have circulated with serial numbers exceeding #1000 (e.g., "#1120"). I don't know whether such numbering was originally made by bootleggers, although the handwriting styles are similar to or almost the same as those found on the original booklet. The highest serial number I have seen so far is #1238.
  

As far as I examined, serial limited numbers
exceeding #1000 were always coupled with
the presumed year notation MCMVXXXV
(= 1985) but not MCMVXXXIV (= 1984),
indicating that such limited numbers were
specifically given to the reissue copies.

Although trivial, I'm curious about why the bootleggers have shown key numbers, such as release years (for both red and black box sets) and serial numbers (only for the red box), in Roman style on the booklets. Such numerals are harder to recognize, especially in large numbers (which reminds me of Fibonacci's achievement in introducing Arabic numerals to the Western world early in the 13th century).

Left: A test-press box contained ten white-labeled discs and a booklet still under production. The booklet was not bound together but left as individually separated sheets, probably because some pages had not been fully printed yet (see the image below). Right: Another test press came in a non-standard box (likely a prototype or error in production) with the hinge fastening at the bottom instead of on the left side. Photos provided courtesy of hrubesh.

Upper: Unfinished booklet pages with no text and no back-
ground color. Note that pages 2 and 19 are on one sheet
next to each other in the unbound status. Lower: The
corresponding pages from the released booklet are shown
for comparison. Upper images courtesy of hrubesh.

Finally, as a collector based in the Far East island, it's always my pleasure to communicate with fellow Boss collectors around the world. To wrap up this three-part vinyl bootleg article, I would like to share a glimpse of the ultimate collectibles of this legendary Bruceleg, which I do not own, unfortunately. Although principally, my blog policy has been "Not to write about what I don't own," this opportunity is an exception. These particular test-pressing copies are owned by someone widely known among collectors' circles who, I think, needs no introduction (check the photo credits, please).
I got to know him through my blog activities years ago, and since then, I've been impressed by his dedication and enthusiasm as a fan and collector. It's a rare privilege to present such super rarities to you vinyl bootleg lovers, collectors, and connoisseurs. Really amazing, and enjoy what he shows, like I did!

— Back to Part 1 or Part 2.